


Every Step Leads Closer to You

by Deveroux



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-06 16:56:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18855193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deveroux/pseuds/Deveroux
Summary: Truthfully, Keith liked being alone. He preferred it. But when faced with the unnaturally empty and silent halls of the Atlas, he finds himself swept away in a sweet surprise.





	Every Step Leads Closer to You

**Author's Note:**

> There was a show I watched in… I think it was the early 2000s since I remember watching it with my mom. In one of the episodes, there was a scene with something like what occurs in this little piece of fluff. I think about it randomly sometimes even though I can’t for the life of me remember what show it was from, and recently I thought, “Imagine this with Shiro and Keith, though.”

Normally, Keith didn’t mind being alone. Normally, he preferred the solitude because it was familiar. It was comfortable. He’d spent so long as just himself that even growing closer to others now that he’d come to accept them into his life and forge relationships, he wasn’t entirely sure how to act around them. Being alone was easier and it helped him collect his thoughts. He was sure he should have been comfortable right then, too, because he  _ was _ alone. No one was around.

For some reason, the situation was peculiar when he thought about it. Solitude was hard to come by on a prodigious, state-of-the-art spaceship housing an exorbitant crew comprised of the Galaxy Garrison and the remains of both the Voltron Coalition and the Blade of Marmora. It was inconceivable for Keith to find himself wandering the halls to tenuous silence, let alone to find nary a soul. Keith felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as he suspiciously glanced over his shoulder only to find the hall remained devoid of any clue. Frowning, he turned back in the direction he’d been walking, only to find he was no longer alone after all. His expression softened at the sight of his wolf and he took a few steps forward, reaching out to pet Kosmo’s fur. “Hey, boy. What are you doing out here? I thought you were with mom.”

When the wolf happily turned toward him, Keith’s brows knitted together. The hand he had on Kosmo’s back slid toward the wolf’s head, gingerly taking hold of a single rose held in the beast’s mouth. “Where did you get this…?” He wasn’t entirely surprised when Kosmo released the rose and happily wagged his tail. Keith was just raising the flower to get a look at it when he felt Kosmo press against his side, and the next moment he found himself transported to the ship’s mess hall. He took a step back, staring at Kosmo incredulously, but before he could ask the wolf what he was doing, he felt Kosmo nudge at his leg, pushing him forward. “What’s gotten  _ into _ you?”

But his attention didn’t remain on the wolf for long. Instead, something in his peripheral caught his attention and Keith straightened up, finding himself staring at a second rose, just as perfectly bloomed and red as the one he’d retrieved from Kosmo’s mouth. His gaze followed the stem down to the hand holding it, then the arm back to the imposing cook aboard the Atlas, and he couldn’t for the life of him determine just why Sal was offering him a rose. Tentatively, Keith reached out and accepted it, certain his confusion was etched clearly on his features as he haltingly uttered, “Uh… thank you?” The Galra cook just offered a smile that was three parts smug and maybe two parts endearing, however, before nodding toward one of the tables. Keith raised one eyebrow as he turned in the direction Sal had indicated.

Another nudge at the back of his leg from Kosmo’s nose sent him stumbling two steps forward and Keith glared down at the space wolf briefly before taking the hint with a grumbled, “Fine, fine.” He started walking toward the table Sal had specified, frowning once again when he saw Nyma standing beside it. He wasn’t sure what to make of her expression, but he was pretty sure he saw a hint of  _ something _ shining in her eyes to accompany a knowing smirk. He didn’t get to question it this time, either, though, watching as she nudged the robot beside her, only for Beezer to present him with a third red rose. As Keith plucked it from the robot’s claw, Beezer’s face displayed an exclamation mark, which Keith could only assume meant he was pleased. Holding it with the two he’d already received, he wasn’t entirely surprised when Nyma gave an overly embellished bow, her arms pointing toward the door of the canteen. Beezer facilitated her display by waving its arms toward the doorway as well, and Keith shook his head, suddenly bemused.

He started walking before Kosmo could nudge his leg again this time, finding Shay standing outside of the canteen when he crossed the threshold. She, too, held a single rose, grasping its stem gently between both of her hands. She offered him a smile before holding the rose out to him, and Keith hesitantly reached for it, not entirely certain he wanted to take it from her. She’d been looking at it with such kindness and joy. He felt a little bad, but her smile grew brighter once he had the rose in his hand and placed it alongside the others. Without a word, she urged him down the hall. He barely managed a distracted thanks, his eyebrows knitting together in consternation once again. He still couldn’t place a finger on just what was happening.

He continued in the direction Shay had indicated, his right hand falling onto Kosmo’s head and petting him lightly as he walked with the wolf trotting along beside him. This time, he wasn’t surprised to find someone along the way. He was, however, a little surprised to find more than one person spaced rather closely together. The first was Leifsdottir, twirling a single red rose thoughtfully between her fingers before she noticed him and held it out in offering. Keith reached for it slowly before turning his attention to Kinkaid along with her. He stepped over to the other man, his gaze turning wary now as he accepted another rose. Kinkaid nodded at him and Keith did the same in return before he found himself pointed toward the opposite side of the hall. There, Rizavi stood with her hands behind her back, but she produced a rose with a flourish when Keith came closer, bowing to him with a grin that spoke volumes of mischief and humor. Keith would never admit he faltered slightly when accepting it.

He followed the way she pointed, toward the opposite wall again and further down the hall. He stopped a couple feet away when Griffin pushed off the wall, the rose held almost like it was a peace offering, and Keith wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to accept it. He stood his ground, watching Griffin with rising suspicion. “Alright, seriously,  _ what _ is going on?” There was no response, leading to Keith tapping his foot impatiently before he sighed in annoyance. Something about James Griffin handing him a rose felt extremely uncomfortable, harkening back to days of teasing, where offering a gift like this might have been purely to drag Keith down, but when Keith’s fingers closed around the stem, Griffin gave him a genuine smile and a gentlemanly bow before stepping aside, tilting his body to give passage to the hall’s intersection before nodding toward the right. Cautiously, Keith brought the eighth rose to join the ones previously handed off and followed the direction Griffin had indicated. Beside him, Kosmo seemed content and Keith looked down toward him as though he were a traitor.

“Okay, boy, what is going  _ on _ today? What  _ is _ all of this?”

There was, of course, no answer and Keith hung his head with a long-suffering sigh before shaking himself out of it and continuing along. He’d gone along with it this far, he figured, so he might as well see it through.

This time, he found his path blocked by Sam and Colleen Holt. They stood side-by-side in the hallway, each holding a flower and smiling kindly at him, something gentle and knowing in their eyes. They held out the roses to him and he took each one with care, first from Colleen and then from Sam, feeling more positive than ever that they could read his confusion, especially when Colleen’s smile turned warmer and Sam patted his arm twice before they broke apart, each moving to a different side of the hallway to open the way for him. Keith supposed he should be grateful more than bewildered, but he still found himself trying to piece together why everyone was giving him flowers. It wasn’t that he was completely unsure, especially by this point – he knew it most certainly had  _ something _ to do with Shiro. He just couldn’t get a handle on what that something might have been.

His expression twisted into exasperation when he saw Iverson standing tall and proud, a single rose held in one hand as an offering. The image felt so incongruous to Keith and he couldn’t stop the startled, “C-Commander…?” He took the rose all the same, but before Iverson could point him in any direction, Veronica came toward him instead, practically forcing her red rose into his hand. She came uncomfortably close and Keith took a measured step backward, narrowing his eyes as she inspected him before grinning. The expression was not unlike ones he’d seen on Lance’s face, except something about Veronica made it seem far more menacing coming from her. Still, she twirled around him and gave him a light shove from behind, spurring him into motion down the hall once more.

This time, he found his path blocked by Acxa. She appeared ill at ease, Keith noted, and she kept looking at the rose in her hand with a strange curiosity before all but thrusting it at him. He laughed softly at that, thanking her for the rose, and this time he managed a question before she could usher him along. “Acxa, what’s this all about?”

She looked guilty, and she started to open her mouth as though to say something, but then she quickly clamped her jaw shut with a click of her teeth, shaking her head and pointing behind herself, further down the hall.

Matt met him next. Keith couldn’t help but laugh again as the other man spun around and extended a rose to him, one hand held to his chest dramatically. He’d heard plenty of recollections about Matt’s over-the-top theatrics upon meeting Allura, from Pidge and Hunk’s amused retellings to Lance’s jealous and annoyed account of the same situation. He shook his head, taking the rose while jokingly questioning, “You do know I’m taken, right?” The only response was Matt stepping aside and Keith was getting more than just a little tired of that. He was also starting to wonder just how many more roses he would have to accept before this was all over.

Regardless, Keith continued along, glancing down at the space wolf again as he mused, “Why would Shiro put everyone up to this?” His train of thought was interrupted when he bumped into Romelle, who quickly put her hands on her hips as though ready to admonish whoever had knocked into her. Once she noticed it was Keith, however, her eyes lit up and she pantomimed… something. Keith didn’t have the heart to admit he couldn’t quite get what it was she was trying to convey, especially since she seemed so enthusiastic about it, but his eyes still followed her movements. He craned his neck and even titled his body to the side to follow along, and he was rewarded by another perfectly bloomed red rose thrust mere centimeters from his face, right at eye level. He accepted it with a gentle smile and a quietly murmured, “Thanks, Romelle.” As he began to move on in the direction she pointed him toward, he couldn’t help but look at that rose.

Engrossed in the rose as he was, he only noticed the next stop due to the frantic squeaking. Blinking slowly a couple times, he added the latest rose to the steadily growing bouquet before searching for the source of the noise, finding the Altean mice on one of the ledges. Not unlike Romelle, they seemed to be trying to tell a story with their actions before they all lined up, picking up the rose resting on the ledge. The entire display was truly interesting and Keith found himself laughing once more as he picked up the rose.

He barely had a moment to straighten himself up when he saw Coran slide into the hallway, right in front of the door leading to the bridge. He felt oddly embarrassed when Coran twirled, producing a rose from seemingly nowhere and holding it to him while bowing down. Keith took it, and this time he wasn’t simply pointed in the next direction. Instead, Coran placed a hand between his shoulder blades, guiding him toward the bridge. The whole thing felt strange, he thought, and he almost wanted to tell Coran he wasn’t some bride being given away, but as he looked down at the roses held reverently in his hands he decided to simply go along with it.

They walked into the bridge together and Keith was suddenly glad Coran was there to guide him along as he saw his friends, his family lined up in a path to greet him. They reached Pidge and she gave him what might have been the biggest grin he’d ever seen from her. He didn’t have time to reflect on the knowing look in her eyes or even the hint of joyous tears as he took the rose from her. She placed her hand on his forearm then, walking him over to Hunk.

Keith wasn’t entirely sure if he was surprised by the way Hunk’s lower lip seemed to quiver or the unshed tears shining in his eyes. He barely registered Pidge releasing his arm as he accepted Hunk’s rose, which was quickly followed by a warm, careful hug. He hugged back with his free arm, his breath catching as he let out a strange, choked sort of laugh. He wasn’t sure why it felt like his heart was squeezing too tightly, and he couldn’t contemplate it as Hunk spun him around and walked him over to Lance.

Lance bowed deeply when Keith and Hunk stopped in front of him, holding out his rose with a warm smile. He, too, had tears in his eyes, and Keith could see something like a mix of pride and relief there. It looked like Lance was itching to say something, but he miraculously held back. Still, Keith eyed the rose uneasily, not entirely certain if it felt more uncomfortable for Lance to offer a flower to him than it had for Griffin to do the same. He took it regardless and barely had time to react as Lance grabbed him and turned him in something almost like a dance, leaving Keith face-to-face with Allura.

Allura’s smile was absolutely radiant. If the rest of their friends had looked proud and overjoyed, then Keith simply had no words for the look she gave him. It was like a recognition of the universe righting itself, like all the pieces were falling into place. She handed her rose to him before giving him a hug and brushing her lips over his cheek. Her hands came to rest on his biceps, squeezing lightly, groundingly, and Keith didn’t realize his heart had been racing until that. She offered him a kind smile before she pulled back, linking her left arm with his right and guiding him further into the bridge, to where Kolivan stood. Allura patted his arm reassuringly, encouragingly before she released him and stepped away.

Keith really wasn’t sure what to think of Kolivan offering him a rose, and he definitely wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming look of pride written so clearly across his features. He drew his hand back once as he reached for the rose from Kolivan before finally taking hold of it, and he felt satisfaction swell in his heart when Kolivan nodded at him, his expression softening into fondness. Keith couldn’t help his blush when Kolivan patted his head before placing a hand in his shoulder and guiding him forward again.

He found himself at the last step to the lower point of the bridge, standing right in front of his mother. Her eyes shone with love, with pride, with joy. In the time he’s known Krolia, he hasn’t seen her look like this before. Not with this magnitude, at least. She pulled him into a hug, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. When Keith looked into her eyes, he was blown away by the emotion there and, somehow, he felt himself choking up. Whatever this was, whatever was happening, it was big. He’d started to assume that along the way and certainly once he’d gotten to the bridge, from the looks his friends had given him, but seeing it from Krolia made it really hit him. “M-mom… mom, what’s–”

Krolia silenced him with a gentle finger placed to his lips before she handed a rose to him with a smile. Her pride seemed to swell and she pressed another kiss to his forehead before she took a step back. It was only when she stepped aside that he realized she’d been blocking his view to what was behind her.

There, at the very center of the lower area of the bridge, stood Shiro, dressed impeccably in his uniform and holding a single red rose in his left hand, it’s petals brushing just above his heart. He looked at Keith with such love and devotion, as though he’d hung the stars throughout the universe himself. A soft, gentle smile played at his lips.

“Keith.”

He found himself moving forward, certain he would stumble over himself but somehow arriving in front of Shiro without incident. His friends, his family were all in the room, but as far as Keith was concerned, no one existed except for Shiro and himself in that moment. He reached out instinctively as Shiro held out the rose for him, not once looking away from Shiro’s eyes.

He was certain his heart would stop when, as soon as Shiro released the rose once it was safely in Keith’s grasp, Shiro dropped down to one knee while still holding Keith’s gaze.

“Shiro…” Distantly, he thought he would have been embarrassed by the way his voice shook, barely above a breathless whisper, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right then. Not when Shiro has knelt in front of him like this, looking at him with so much love. Not when all of the pieces were finally fitting together and he understood, even before he saw the small, open box in Shiro’s right palm. Not when he saw the ring made of a dark metal that looked so familiar, a metal that he was almost positive had to be luxite.

“Keith. I love you.” He felt his breath catch, heard someone suck in a breath from somewhere behind him – or maybe it was more than one someone. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Shiro. “I love you, and every moment I’m with you, I’m more sure than ever that I want to be with you forever. You’re my one. You’ve always found me.” Shiro’s smile turned so incredibly fond and Keith was beyond certain now that his heart really did stop, but then it raced at Shiro’s next words. “Stay at my side forever, Keith. Marry me.”

He wasn’t sure how he held onto the roses as he pitched forward, throwing himself at Shiro, a whispered litany of, “Yes, yes, yes” spilling from his lips. He was only silenced when Shiro kissed him long and slow, and he could feel all of Shiro’s desperation, love, and relief just as he knew Shiro could feel his. But being like this, kissing Shiro like this was like coming home.

And when Shiro slid that ring onto his finger, Keith knew everything would be perfect forever.

**Author's Note:**

> There was a part of me that wanted to include Slav in the line-up for giving Keith the roses, but I just can't see Shiro having Slav nearby long enough to actually plan everything out.
> 
> Thank you again for joining me through this small, indulgent fluff. Please feel free to comment, or stop by my Twitter ([@RixanDeveroux](https://twitter.com/RixanDeveroux)) to get in touch with me if you’d like. I tend to post a lot of random idea threads there that often get ridiculously long, if you’re interested.


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